According to TOI report, HCL Technologies is asking employees who are resigning to return the performance bonus that was given to them every month during the financial year.
Pune-based IT labor rights nonprofit Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES) has filed an official complaint against HCL Technologies, alleging the business has instituted a policy to claw back bonuses from resigning employees.
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Commenting on this issue, Harpreet Saluja, President, Nites said, “We have received multiple complaints from employees across India that the employer HCL Technologies Limited has initiated a policy to recover bonus[es] paid to the employees. If the employees fail to pay the amount, their experience certificate, relieving letter, and other employment documents & benefits are withheld by the company.
“HCL’s policy to recover the money as “iniquitous, arbitrary and harsh.” It is also to be noted that such a recovery policy without any statutory approval is resulting in hardship and it far outweighs the equitable balance of the employer’s right to recover. It is almost impossible for an employee to bear the financial burden of a refund of payment of bonus received over a period of time under the current pandemic conditions,” he added.
Commenting on this HCL Technologies said, “it is not doing anything that the employees did not already know. But for employees, many of who have already spent at least part of the money they received, the demand is turning out to be onerous. Some of them have approached IT employee unions.”
The company further said, “Supporting employees is HCL’s top priority. We have strict global compliance policies whereby every relevant applicable law, including those applicable to employees, are adhered to as per the laws of the countries we operate in.
“We would like to put on record that the matter around the recovery of bonuses has been incorrectly reported. As a law-abiding organisation, HCL follows the best HR practices and continues to honour commitments and work in a fair and equitable manner towards all including employees.” the company added.
